Senin, 03 Januari 2011

Tomohon, City of Flowers

Tomohon is a hill resort located some 22 kilometers east of Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi province. Tomohon consists of 35 villages in five sub-districts, namely West, East, Central, South and North Tomohon.

Its land contour, cool weather and fertile soil encourage the local community to cultivate various kinds of flowers and vegetables. This city is known as a producer of flowers. When in season, the flower gardens of the local inhabitants look very beautiful.

Annually the Tomohon Flower Festival is held here in June and July. During this event, watch the flower floats parade through the town. A flower tournament is also held during this Festival where participants from 94 cities in Indonesia take part at the Inspiration Hill.

source : indonesiatravel.en

Waruga

Waruga are stone sarcophagi used by the Minahasa tribes to place their dead in a squatting position. The Waruga park is located in the village of Sawangan, and at the Airmadidi sub-district, some 40 kilometers from Manado.

Based on local belief, these graves are made of carved stone that are shaped like a house, a tradition kept since 1600AD. The graves vary, depending on the profession or social status of the person buried.

There are 144 “dotu” or clans gathered together at the waruga park in Sawangan, whose original locations were previously spread out throughout several villages in the Minahasa district, but these have now been gathered in the waruga compound at Sawangan and nearby Airmadidi.

Since this heritage which originates from the megalitic era is notable, several heads of state have come to view them , among others Queen Jualiana and Prince Bernard, as well as Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and many more.

source : indonesiatravel.en

Manado Island

Manado Tua--or Old Manado--island, together with the islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Mantehage and Nain form the Bunaken-Manado Tua Marine National Park. The Park lies just off shore from the city of Manado, capital of the province of North Sulawesi, site of the first World Ocean Conference 2009 which held in May. Covering a total of 89,065 hectares, the Bunaken-Manado Tua park is among the most spectacular dive sites in the world.

The islands are separated from the mainland by a submarine trench that reaches a depth of 1,200 meters, and keeps these waters relatively free from city garbage and silt. The reserve is protected by law from spearfishing and coral or fish-collecting, as well as from dynamite fishing.

Only one hour by motor boat from Manado town, the island of Manado Tua is distinguished by the majestic perfect cone of the extinct volcano that formed the island, which is capped with a rainforest on its summit. Around the island are underwater plateaus sloping from 5 meters to 30 meters, fringed by vertical coral walls plunging 25 to 50 meters down, and large caves with hanging coral reefs: a truly amazing sea garden. Next to Manado Tua is the more well-known island of Bunaken.

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Lake Tondano

Lake Tondano is a famous tourist destination in the province of North Sulawesi. It is located 600 meters above sea level and covers an area of 4,278 hectares (or about 10,571 acres). This lake is situated by the village of Remboken, some 3 kilometers from Tomohon city or some 30 km from Manado.

Lake Tondano is surrounded by mountains of 700 meters high, which are the Lembena, the Kaweng, the Tampusu and Masarang. The lake covers three sub-districts, these are Eris, Kakas and Remboken. From the lake side, you can see clearly Mount Kaweng.

Lake Tondano has a tourist attraction called "Sumaru Endo" Remboken, and the Tourist Resort of Bukit Pinus (from Tondano towards Toliang Oki). From the lake side at Toliang Oki, and Tondano Pante you can see as far as the beautiful Maluku sea, beyond the Lembean hill. Entry fee to this tourist attraction is Rp 4.000 plus for insurance.

source: indonesiatravel.en

Bunaken, Journey of the Northen Sea

Ever fancy yourself being a mermaid? Being able to swim along with other creatures of the sea , moving to the rhythm of the waves? In the Bunaken Marine Park, you will encounter a real “mermaid”, and you can also get a glimpse of sea life here.

Bunaken is an 8.08 km² island in the Bay of Manado, situated in the north of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Bunaken forms part of the administrative city of Manado , capital of North Sulawesi. The marine Park around Bunaken is part of the National Park that also includes the ocean around the island of Manado Tua – or Old Manado, Siladen and Mantehage.

Within the Bunaken Marine Park, visitors can see various strange and colourful marine life along its sea bed. To reach this park, you can take a motorboat. The journey from Manado takes around 40 minutes. Entrance fee is 25,000 rupiahs per person per visit.

The translucent waters of the Bunaken seas enable people to clearly view numerous sea biota. There are 13 species of coral reefs in this park, dominated by edge ridges and block ridges of rocks. The most attractive view is the steep vertical sloppy coral reef that plunges down as deep as 25-50 meters.

Feast your eyes on 91 types of fish found in the Bunaken National Park, amongst which are the locally known gusimi horse fish (Hippocampus), the white oci (Seriola rivoliana), yellow-tailed lolosi (Lutjanus kasmira), goropa (Ephinephelus spilotoceps and Pseudanthias hypselosoma), ila gasi (Scolopsis bilineatus) and others.

Divers may also meet mollusk like the giant kima (Tridacna gigas), goat head (Cassis cornuta), nautilus (Nautilus pompillius) and tunikates/ascidian.

For those who enjoy scuba diving, this is a great place to be. With about 20 dive spots to choose from, divers will have the chance to swim below the sea, and frolic joyfully while admiring the sea creatures.

Make sure to visit Bunaken during its best season between May to August. That way you can explore the Park to its fullest.

Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo Tour, East java


The still-active Bromo volcano is a day's drive from Surabaya. Standing on top of this almost 2400 metre high mountain is an unforgettable experience. The Bromo crater suddenly rises up in the middle of a sea of sand 'lautan passir'. Looking down from the top of the Bromo into the smoking crater, combined with the view over the 10 km long Tengger massif is, we would guess, like standing on the moon.

Although one must get started by three o'clock in the morning and walk for an hour through the sea of sand to get the best sunrise view, it is worth your effort. During the rainy season it is better wait until after sunrise for climbing Bromo, which then can be cloudy at dawn. The Bromo highlands are also an important centre for traditional Hindu Javanese beliefs. In the 15th century many Hindu believers fled to the mountains for a safe haven for the upcoming Moslem rulers.

source: adventureindonesia.com

Singkarak Lake

Singkarak Lake

Another ideal place for recreation and water sport is Singkarak Lake, 36 km from Bukittinggi. There are several motels and restaurants in the area. Singkarak Lake is located about 10 Km of Solok city and ± 35 Km from Kayu Aro. This lake is located in X Koto district and spread across Solok - Bukit Tinggi way. The lake is state between two regencies that is Solok regency and Tanah Datar regency with ± 129,70 km2 (± 1.129,29 Ha) width. Siangkarak Lake is the widest lake in West Sumatra and the second widest lake in Sumatra Island after Toba Lake.

The Lake that located in 362,5 m height from the sea level, has special species of fish that only live in this lake and the only in the world. Society around called as Bilih Fish (Mystacoleuseus Padangensis). Uniquely, this fish cannot live in other habitat, both in an aquarium and in a pool. The people around are often selling this fish and the visitors can enjoy the specific taste of this fish in the restaurants that located around the lake.

The Lake is equipped by some facilities, such as; hotels, motels, restaurants and also water sport facilities. Beside used as tourism objects and the economic source of society around, nowadays, this lake also used as the electric source of Sicincin.

source: indonesiantourism.com